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ShareAs the dreaded swine flu spreads exponentially to every part of the nation, courageous claims of the Indian government that the situation was under control, is falling flat on the face. By the time this article is read, many more people will be reported infected by the A/H1N1 influenza virus and a few unfortunate may succumb in their unexpected and untimely battle for life.
Only in May, senior health ministry officials were quoted by the media that the official machinery is prepared to limit the spread of the disease having installed scanning systems for passengers at airports.
India still had patients who entered the country and passed on the virus to the large mass of people who now have to cope with the health hazard. If systems had been fool-proof, we surely could have salvaged the situation more confidently. Obviously, verbal assurances and actual commitment did not go together and like most other crisis situations, we slipped again.
Thankfully, in India, the flu has so far remained limited to a few cities, but because the virus is highly contagious, there is every possibility that tier two and three cities may also get impacted. An English news channel is currently flashing that one patient has been found in Meghalaya. Enough proof than that the virus has turned humans into a speedy vehicle to proliferate and reach out to the remotest areas.
Unfortunately, people have been largely left to fend for themselves. There are no constructive awareness campaigns, no supply tie-up for availability of drugs and absolutely no plan on how to counter the threat, that might assume a catastrophic proportion if left uncontrolled.
Indian drug maker Cipla has been pleading with the government to allow the manufacture of oseltamivir --- the only generic drug that can fight the virus --- but for some reason, our government has preferred to stockpile the same medicine made by Roche. Of course, large quantities have been supplied by Hetero and much more is being stored in case the numbers keep swelling.
According to the press release on the government website, by the end of July, the World Health Organisation had 162,380 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 and 1,154 deaths. The government has also listed that a cumulative total of 45,68,774 passengers have been screened so far for the disease.
It must be a Herculean task to pin-point the actual carriers of the virus from every airport, but that point is virtually unacceptable as the health authorities had enough time to prepare for the outbreak of the virus before it surfaced the first time in March in Mexico.
To assume that the virus will leave India untouched but kill many in the rest of the world was absurd. In fact, repeated announcements of the government in earlier months almost appeared to be that.
Like every time a crisis emerges, our fragile health infrastructure is found to be grossly inept. Private hospitals, which had not been given permission to diagnose and treat patients, allegedly went wrong in their treatment procedure, losing precious time in saving lives while people went into the panic mode mainly for want of proper knowledge.
Common flu has been misunderstood for H1N1 flu and chances could not be ruled out that the crisis may have been aggravated as people fall upon each other to get themselves tested for the killer virus.
It will therefore be prudent for the government to stop living in denial and immediately involve the industry, doctors, trade and the non-governmental organisations in preparing an emergency plan to tackle the deadly virus.
H1N1 is not an unconquerable virus. Having caused a global havoc, it may now mutate into a more virulent strain, but once the peak is reached, scientists say there is a good chance that it may die down naturally.
Neglecting the spread of the disease to an extent where large groups of people now need to be put on oseltamivir should shake our administration. There are already a few reports in the foreign media of the virus becoming resistant to both Tamiflu and Relenza and if an emergency plan is not implemented, India may in all likelihood count a larger number of people among those infected by the flu.
Priority must be accorded to preventing further spread of the virus to newer areas. Awareness in India's rural pockets is awfully low and primary health centres may just not be equipped to handle the crisis. Time, therefore, to be practical and go on a war-footing against this latest, hidden enemy of mankind.
Pillman is an executive closely linked to the global pharma industry
